576 LIFE OF DA VID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D. 



be no niggard supplies sent to him, for the establishment of such a basis as 

 will ensure success requires considerable resources, and the Church Mission 

 should this time make a supreme effort worthy of their great Church." 



There is nothing more characteristic of the great missionary traveller 

 than his unwearied application and utilisation of every spare moment at his 

 command. Nothing escaped his observation ; and everything which might 

 prove of use was carefully noted. The following suggestions on the estab- 

 lishment of a mission near Zanzibar, we extract from Dr. Livingstone's 

 " Diary" just published : — 



" No great difficulty would be encountered in establishing a Christian 

 mission a hundred miles or so from the East Coast. The permission of the 

 Sultan of Zanzibar would be necessary, because all the tribes of any intelli- 

 gence claim relationship, or have relations with him ; the Banyamwezi even 

 call themselves his subjects, and so do others. His permission would be rea- 

 dily granted, if respectfully applied for through the English Consul. The 

 Suaheli, with their present apathy on religious matters, would be no obstacle. 

 Care to speak politely, and to show kindness to them, would not be lost 

 in the general effect of the mission in the country, but all discussion on the 

 belief. of the Moslems should be avoided; they know little about it. Emi- 

 grants from Muscat, Persia, and India, who at present possess neither influ- 

 ence nor wealth, would eagerly seize any formal or offensive denial of the 

 authority of their prophet to fan their own bigotry, and arouse that of the 

 Suaheli. A few now assume an air of superiority, and would fain take the 

 place of Mullams, or doctors of the law, by giving authoritative dicta as to 

 the times of prayer — positions to be observed — lucky and unlucky days — 

 using cabalistic signs — telling fortunes — finding from the Koran when an 

 attack may be made on any enemy, etc. ; but this is done only in the field 

 with trading parties. At Zanzibar, the regular Mullams supersede them. 



" No objection would be made to teaching the natives of the country to 

 read their own languages in the Roman characters. No Arab has ever 

 attempted to teach them the Arabic-Koran ; they are called guma, hard, or 

 difficult, as to religion. This is not wonderful, since the Koran is never 

 translated, and a very extraordinary desire for knowledge would be required 

 to sustain a man in committing to memory pages and chapters of, to him, 

 unmeaning gibberish. One only of all the native chiefs, Monyungo, has sent 

 his children to Zanzibar to be taught to read and write the Koran ; and he 

 is said to possess an unusual admiration of such civilization as he has seen 

 among the Arabs. To the natives, the chief attention of the mission should 

 be directed. It would not be desirable, or advisable, to refuse explanation 

 to others ; but I have avoided giving offence to intelligent Arabs, who have 

 pressed me, asking if I believed in Mohammed, by saying, " No, I do not : I 

 am a child of Jesus bin Miriam," avoiding anything offensive in my tone, 



